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Posts: 3Hi all: If possible please help me in identifying my bear (and value). He was given to me in the early 50s when we lived in France and Germany. I was an Army brat. Cookie bear (named for the sound he made when his voice box worked 
is jointed and is stuffed with excelsior. There are no markings that I could find. Thanx!
Hi JB, I'm pretty sure that Cookie is a Steiff "Classic" bear, and was probably new when he was given to you.
In his very well-loved condition, and with no ear button, he's probably worth $100 or less. (If he were mine, I'd get him cleaned and enjoy his company!)
Becky
Posts: 3Thanx! ...that's what I kinda thought. Any recommendations on how to clean him up? Cost to do so...and would it be advisable to try an locate an appropriate ear button?
Thanx again..
-=Joseph=-
Hi Joseph, It wouldn't really be proper to replace the ear button (some might see it as fraudulent?), but as far as cleaning, you could give it a go yourself, or look for a teddy-bear restoration person in your part of the world.
The first step with cleaning is to make sure the bear isn't hosting any "friends." Just wrap him in a towel and place him in a freezer for 48 hours or so. Then you need to rid him of dust (I use a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment. Just be careful around the eyes, ears, etc.) Then comes the fur... (I just did a search of this forum for "clean mohair" and found this thread with good advice from Paula Carter: http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=46463
Now, it's not really a huge deal to get paw pads re-covered, and the nose/mouth stitching he has is definitely not original. You could leave those "mom stitches" for the sake of sentiment, or a professional could restore his original look.
Good luck, and we'd love to see "after" pictures!
Becky
Posts: 3Thanx...Cookie and I have weathered well together 
so I think he's going to be fine in the cupboard...
Thanx again!!
